The Chaotic Budgeting of the Merauke Food Estate

2 hours ago 3

January 26, 2026 | 10:06 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta –The face of Wanam village in Ilwayab District, Merauke Regency, South Papua Province, has changed over the past year as the government accelerated its food and energy self-sufficiency project. Among the most visible developments was a special agricultural port that, according to official claims, had reached 87.39 percent completion as of December 12, 2025.

At the site, cranes stood atop barges and operated nearly without pause. When Tempo visited on Tuesday night, December 2, 2025, construction continued under the glare of floodlights. The next morning, mounds of sand and stone rose around the dock.

The port connected to a roughly 135-kilometer road built specifically to support the food self-sufficiency project. The road was unpaved, nothing more than a long stretch of compacted rock.

Construction of the dock was handled by Dua Samudera Perkasa, a port services company based in South Jakarta. Based on records from the Law Ministry’s General Legal Administration database, the company’s shareholders include Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, known as Haji Isam, and Jhonlin Group. Isam’s second child, Jhony Saputra, was listed as a commissioner.

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